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Born To Make A Difference

Every now and then you see something online that just speaks to you. It can’t be denied. You can feel it so deep down that you just can’t wait to share it…with everyone.

This happened to us recently when we read a post by our friend The Single Mom in the South. She’s not only a mom and a great blogger, she is also a teacher. One of her colleagues played a video at a faculty meeting.

It wasn’t just any old video. It was a video of a TED talk by an extraordinary educator by the name of Rita Pierson. We played the video not knowing what to expect.

It was the very best way to spend seven minutes and forty eight seconds we can imagine. We laughed, we cried, we both played it several times in a row…and then we called each other to talk about our favorite parts. By the time we were finished we could practically recite the entire talk by heart.

It is just that awesome.

You’ll see.

Her words perfectly exemplify everything that matters in education. She is truly an example of the kind of difference a teacher can make in the life of a child. When you really sit back and think about the incredible power of a teacher to change lives, it is kind of overwhelming and awe-inspiring.

We know just from listening to our children talk about their teachers that they are everyday heroes in their world. Our children share the words spoken by their teachers as if those words are law. We can’t tell you how many times we have heard the phrase, “BUT MY TEACHER SAID…” when we have suggested another course of action. It makes our hearts smile to know that these children of ours are in the hands of amazing teachers who work hard every single day to teach our children.

We both know from our own life experience that when you have a teacher who goes out of their way to inspire you to learn, you never forget that teacher. The lessons you learn from those kinds of teachers extend far beyond the classroom and last much longer than an academic year.

The Best Part is an online community that’s dedicated to brightening your day—every day. How? By spreading optimism, one share at a time. The Best Part posts inspirational stories, encouraging quotes, good news and other upbeat items on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram—and encourages fans and followers to share that optimism with their friends. Because when optimism is shared, it grows, making an even more positive impact on our world. Check out what others are sharing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Thanks so much to you both and will say as a teacher deep down (and before I became a stay at home mom), we teachers just try are best to do only the best and right by our students. So, nice to see a campaign to honor that! 🙂

A good teacher will stay with you your entire life. And the funny thing is.. it’s usually the one who you thought was “mean” at the time. I tell my girls that all the time.. “is she mean or does she expect more out of you. there’s a difference”. Thanks for sharing this one!

I saw the video of Ms. Pierson a while back and agree it was very powerful! I definitely think the world needs a lot more optimism and people stepping up to make a difference instead of waiting on someone else or blaming someone else. That’s why I love the quote “Be the change you want to see.” I’ll definitely check out The Best Part online community. Sounds like my kind of people!

I love her and her passion. It just oozes from her pours. Makes you want to actually go back to school so that you can attend one of her classes. Thanks for sharing this. I’m going to pass it forward so all my teacher friends will see it as well. She is a gem!

My mom taught school for 40 years, and she was one of those teachers who went above and beyond because she really cared out her students. It’s so easy to take teachers for granted. We need to remember everything they do for our kids.

As a woman who literally spent from the fifth grade until my first year in college to become a teacher, this really hit home for me. I stopped wanting to be a teacher because I wasn’t allow to discipline at all in my classroom, but now I’m a homeschool parent. I wouldn’t trade the experience of building the type of relationships I get with my kids as a result being their mother and their educator.

Teachers make such a huge impact on children’s lives. My 3rd grader has been so lucky to have amazing teachers so far. All of them! I hope the streak continues. Thanks for sharing the video. It was spectacular.

Heheheh just kidding, I shared your post “all over the place!” this is an incredible video. I love TED talks, I probably watch at least one a day and all I can say is there are some incredible people out there who negate all of the negative, does that make sense? They do what they do because its the right thing to do. Thank you for sharing this – you guys are awesome!

wow so powerful. i’ve actually had a debate in my head for quite some time: is it better for a teacher to be a smart hard-ass disciplinarian or an always smiling, happy-go-lucky motivator. i’ve had both. for example, i had a no-nonsense honors teacher who was so tough, i wondered whether or not i really enjoyed the subject. whereas i had her same counterparts who made me love the subject, but at the same time, i knew i didn’t have to work so hard. yin and yang for sure.